Are the Fishers of Lake Marmara Willing to Pay for a Sustainable Fishery Management?

1 Ege University, Fisheries Faculty, 35100, Bornova, İzmir, Türkiye2 Gazi University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Science, Econometrics Department, Ankara, Turkey
DOI :
10.4194/1303-2712-v17_6_13
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This study, analyzing the sustainable use of fisheries in Lake Marmara, was conducted in Gölmarmara, a town of
Manisa. The study makes use of contingent valuation method to calculate the monetary values which fishers who are actively
using the lake are willing to pay in order for a sustainable use of the lake. For this purpose, data were collected through faceto-face interviews made with 55 of the 130 commercial fishers active in the lake. Variables affecting fishers’ acceptance of
extra payment were found to be: knowing the lake is a natural protection zone, education, experience in fishing, income,
vessel ownership and retirement status. Of the 55 fishers interviewed, 96% (53 fishers) believe that the lake is under a threat
in terms of fisheries while 50 fishers (90%) are willing to pay for the sustainability and improvement of the fisheries in the
lake (18,681 TRY ($ 6,912) in total per year). The calculated willingness to pay (WTP) per fisher averages 143.7 TRY per
year. With this study, fishers have proven that they will take on responsibility in creating the required data and budget to
establish a sustainable fisheries management and prepare management plans.
Keywords :
Lake Marmara, fisheries, willingness to pay, environmental valuation, sustainable use